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hatrack

(60,701 posts)
Fri Oct 18, 2024, 07:33 AM Oct 18

Lancet - "Overwhelming" Majorities Of Americans 16-25 Fear Climate Collapse; "Your Generation Will Fix It" Not Helping

he overwhelming majority of young Americans worry about the climate crisis, and more than half say their concerns about the environment will affect where they decide to live and whether to have children, new research finds. The study comes just weeks after back-to-back hurricanes, Helene and Milton, pummeled the south-eastern US. Flooding from Helene caused more than 600 miles of destruction, from Florida’s west coast to the mountains of North Carolina, while Milton raked across the Florida peninsula less than two weeks later.

“One of the most striking findings of the survey was that this was across the political spectrum,” said the lead author, Eric Lewandowski, a clinical psychologist and associate professor at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine. “There was no state sample where the endorsement of climate anxiety came in less than 75%.” The study was published in the Lancet Planetary Health, and follows a 2021 study covering 10 countries. Both the previous and current study were paid for by Avaaz, an advocacy group.

EDIT

An overwhelming majority of young people said they were worried about the climate crisis – 85% said they were at least moderately worried, and more than half (57%) said they were “very or extremely” worried. Nearly two-thirds endorsed the statement: “Humanity is doomed,” and more than half of the sample (52%) endorsed: “I’m hesitant to have children.” “I often hear adults say that our generation, gen Z, will fix what they have broken. What they may not understand is the pressure this puts on all of us,” said Zion Walker, a student and member of the Climate Mental Health Network’s Gen Z Advisory Board, in a statement. “Yes, we are taking steps and fighting for the future, but many of us are overwhelmed by the daily reality of climate disasters – waking up to news of wildfires engulfing homes and hurricanes taking lives.”

Large majorities of both main political parties – 92% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans – said they worried about the climate. Respondents also said they had negative thoughts about the climate and had planned action to respond to their concerns, including voting for political candidates who would pledge to support “aggressive” action.

EDIT

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/17/young-americans-climate-change

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Magoo48

(5,212 posts)
2. Next generations are told, by humanity's feeble, timid, measured response to climate catastrophe--
Fri Oct 18, 2024, 07:52 AM
Oct 18

Fuck off, fix it yourselves.
The. First. World. Will. Not. Be. Inconvenienced.
Expect little from the top down, too massive a tangle with corporate money.
Begin teaching adaptation theory and techniques in K-12 and all the way up the ladder.

hatrack

(60,701 posts)
3. But carbon capture!! Algae biofuels!! Offsets!! AI!! Free-Market Solutions!! Sulfate Aerosols!! Recycling!!
Fri Oct 18, 2024, 08:13 AM
Oct 18

Magoo48

(5,212 posts)
5. Ahhh, my own sarcastic response quite often.
Fri Oct 18, 2024, 08:25 AM
Oct 18

I think we both know it’s corporate/political greenwashing.

hatrack

(60,701 posts)
6. In light of nearly complete shutdown of natural land-based CO2 uptake last year . . .
Fri Oct 18, 2024, 08:33 AM
Oct 18

The same old shit we've been hearing lo these many years from TPTB isn't just older and shittier, it's doesn't even rise to Bad Joke Status anymore.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/oct/14/nature-carbon-sink-collapse-global-heating-models-emissions-targets-evidence-aoe

NNadir

(34,533 posts)
4. I often say "History will not forgive us nor should it," but that said...
Fri Oct 18, 2024, 08:19 AM
Oct 18

...there are some in the next generation who are working with some remarkable tools.

I feel the guilt for what we have done, but nonetheless, it does seem feasible that they may be able to restore some of what we destroyed. It will be hard on them to be sure, but I'm not convinced that they will be unable to achieve great things having great tools to do so.

Magoo48

(5,212 posts)
7. I am also quite confident that there is a path to survival.
Fri Oct 18, 2024, 08:36 AM
Oct 18

I hope the pain and suffering is bearable for those not responsible. My guess is humanity and society will be considerably smaller and would look quite strange to us today. Yet who can say. None of us can see the future.

-misanthroptimist

(1,150 posts)
9. The kids are right
Fri Oct 18, 2024, 08:43 AM
Oct 18

The youngest of them will see the collapse undeniably begin in their early 30s. In truth, the climate catastrophe has already begun. There is no avoiding it now. We, the Boomers, abdicated our responsibilities and have doomed our own descendants to very difficult lives. I wish I had done more.

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